 Recently I had the privilege of being part of a 6 person team (one of 3 therapists) on a Wheels for the World distribution in Nekemte in Ethiopia. For those who remember Jenny Merritt, Nekemte is where the deaf school is that she set up, and we used the school as a base for our distribution.
We left Heathrow on 22nd April and caught an overnight flight to Addis Ababa. On our arrival at Addis on the Thursday morning we were met by Selamawit Sagni, our Ethiopian co-worker and co-ordinator of the Community Based Rehabilitation programme in the Mekemte area. She confirmed that the container of wheelchairs had arrived in Addis but had not yet been cleared by customs.
This necessitated an extra nights stay in Addis in order to grapple with African bureaucracy in the form of the clearing agent at both the central and regional customs offices until the papers needed to enable release of the container were obtained. This was a slow process involving much diplomacy and patience from the leader of our team and much prayer from the rest of us. Eventually the papers were signed and we were promised that the chairs would be with us by Sunday.
 The extra time spent in Addis enabled the rest of the team to collect bibles from the Bible Society in Ethiopa (paid for by the British Bible Society) to be given to all the people we saw and gave chairs to. Finally the team left for Nekemte at 1pm on the Friday. Ahead of us was an 8 hour drive on at times bumpy roads so we were pleased when we at last arrived at the Dessalegn Hotel, though not so pleased when we discovered there was no running water for a shower! We managed to get a late meal at the local internet cafe before retiring to bed. On Saturday we spent time at the school preparing our work areas, assessing some of the people already waiting for us at the deaf school and doing some group training in wheelchair use, plus an explanation of our reason for being there - the love of God.
On the Sunday we attended a service the full gospel church in the town where the pastor, who has a disability, received the 5000th Wheels chair by the team who visited in 2007. Our team leader had an opportunity to speak in the service to explain our mission and ask for prayer support.
 Monday morning brought much rejoicing as the team arrived at the school to find the container with the chairs had arrived about 20 minutes before us. The container was quickly emptied with local help and the chairs and other equipment sorted and arranged indoors according to our pre-prepared plan. By mid-morning we were able to see the first clients.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were normal distribution days with a steady flow of people seeking our help for themselves or their loved ones. Many people were local but a large number had travelled great distances to see us, some 200-300km requiring overnight stops on their journeys. Although we saw a good number of people, the numbers were not as great as we had been expecting and we only allocated just under half the chairs we brought. It was however felt by the local team that many more people will make the long journey to Nekemte now the message has gone out that the chairs have arrived after all.
 The delay in getting the chairs meant that the team had to forgo their day of sightseeing in Addis and instead leave for our long return journey on Friday morning. Most team members suffered minor tummy upsets but generally all kept in good health. We were a small but very supportive team who worked very well together in sometimes testing circumstances (including frequent power cuts, intermittent water supplies, poor diet and non-existent mobile phone network). However the uncertainties made us more aware of our dependence on God and led to some meaningful prayer times.
I am full of admiration for the local people we worked with and for the Ethiopian people who really live a hard life against great odds and often in extreme poverty. And yet wherever we went we were warmly welcomed and people were very gracious. I feel greatly blessed to have met all these people.
Thank you to all who supported me both financially and in prayer.
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